A campaign to overturn one of the most disputed rulings of the Bloody
Sunday inquiry is to make its case to both the London and Dublin
governments.

A report entitled ‘Gerald Donaghey: The Truth about the Planting of Nail
Bombs on Bloody Sunday’ has said there is strong evidence that nail
bombs were planted on the body of 17-year-old victim Gerald Donaghey
after he was shot on January 30 1972.

All of the innocent victims were falsely portrayed by the British Army
as potential combatants in the aftermath of the massacre.

No nail bombs were thrown on Bloody Sunday. The claim that Gerald was
carrying any such devices has always been denied hy his family.

The findings by British-Irish Rights Watch were published this week to
coincide with the second anniversary of the publication of the Saville
report.

The Bloody Sunday Trust also intends sending the report to Mark Saville
and his fellow judges. Saville concluded that all the victims of Bloody
Sunday were entirely innocent and had been shot dead by British soldiers
without justification. However, he also claimed it was possible that
Gerald Donaghey had been carrying nail bombs when he was shot, although
this did not justify the shooting.

Following its own analysis of the evidence presented to Saville, British
Irish Rights Watch has said the teenager could not have had nail bombs
in his pockets.

“It follows from our conclusion that members of the security forces must
have planted nail bombs on Gerald Donaghey’s body after his death, an
act which added insult to injury and has left Gerald Donaghey with an
undeserved stain on his character to the great grief of his family,” the
organisation’s director Jane Winter said.

Shot by the same bullet that killed Gerald McKinney, the teenager was
treated at the scene by Dr Kevin Swords.

The doctor found no nail bombs when he examined the dying victim.

While the injured youth was being taken to Altnagelvin Hospital, the car
carrying him was diverted to a British army base. It was here that
Gerald Donaghey was pronounced dead and it was claimed nail bombs had
been found in his pocket.

Ms Winters said the bullet that ultimately killed the teenager had
passed through one of the pockets in which it was alleged a nail bomb
had been present.

Conal McFeely, the chairman of the Bloody Sunday Trust, said the new
report would be sent to the Irish and British governments as well as
members of the Saville inquiry.

“We want Saville to read it and to take into consideration the views of
the citizens of this city and the evidence because he talked about one
probability,” he said. “We’re simply saying that there are other
possibilities as well.

“The view of this community and the families is that the nail bombs were
planted on Gerald’s body.”

MURDERS ‘NOT ACKNOWLEDGED’

Meanwhile, the family of Bloody Sunday victim Alex Nash have called for
justice on the anniversary of the Saville report.

In an open letter, they said the failure to prosecute the soldiers who
carried out the Bloody Sunday killings had “belittled” the victims.

“When it came to the people who planned and gave the orders, the report
was a whitewash”, they wrote.

The following is the full text of the letter by Kate and Linda Nash.

The second anniversary of the Bloody Sunday report is not a time for
celebration but for keeping up the pressure for justice to be done.

The British Government, and too many people in Ireland, want us to see
publication of the report as the end of the matter. They think
Cameron’s words on June 15th 2010 should be enough for us. That’s an
insult.

One of the three demands of the Bloody Sunday campaign, endorsed by all
the families, was for the prosecution of the men who pulled the triggers
and the others who gave the orders. But there’s no sign of that
happening.

The report found that neither my father Alex nor my brother William
posed any threat to anyone at the time they were deliberately shot down
by paratroopers on the streets of Derry. There was no confusion or
mistake. British soldiers murdered my brother and attempted to murder
my father and so far they have got away with it.

David Cameron said that his government wanted to face up to the truth
about Bloody Sunday. That was only words. If there is evidence that
somebody has committed murder, they should be charged and tried.
Otherwise we are saying that the victims, our family members, weren’t
full human beings.

The dead and wounded of Bloody Sunday are belittled by the fact that
there have been no prosecutions. We call on all public representatives
to bring this issue to the fore. It is wrong that it has hardly been
heard of over the past two years. We owe it to our relatives not to let
it rest.

All the families have made it clear that we are not looking for revenge.
But we do want it acknowledged that murder was done in Derry that day,
and that hasn’t happened.

There is also the issue of Gerry Donaghey. A shadow has been cast on
his memory by the finding in the report that he probably had been
carrying nail-bombs. We believe this finding was intended to give the
report an appearance of ‘balance’. It wasn’t based on the evidence.
This is an injustice which has to be put right.

It is also important to remember that the report allowed the army and
political higher-up to get away scot-free, as if it was only a handful
of paratroopers who planned and carried out the massacre of our
relatives. When it came to the people who planned and gave the orders,
the report was a whitewash. That’s the main reason Cameron was able to
welcome it.

The march for justice for Bloody Sunday has not yet reached its
destination. There is still a need to keep marching, which we shall be
doing again next January and will be hoping for support from all who
have campaigned through the years.

Kate Nash
Linda Nash

* Linda Nash and Damian Donaghey, family members of Alex Nash and Gerard
Donaghey respectively, will speak at the ‘Truth and Justice’ march and
rally in Belfast on Saturday.

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